Cobras repeat as NEFL champs

Thursday

Oct 30, 2008 at 12:01 AM

By JON HAGLOF

By JON HAGLOF

Sports Editor

MIDDLEBORO — A big start paved the way to a big finish for the Middleboro Cobras Sunday night against the Lowell Nor'easter in the New England Football League AAA Division Championship Game at Battis Field.

The Cobras scored on their opening drive of the night behind some hard running by George Beebe and a four-yard Jon Bond to Mackenzie Harrison touchdown pass, and Lowell's first possession of the night ended with a Rashawn Jones interception returned 30 yards the other way for a touchdown. The early surge gave Middleboro a 14-0 lead with 6:24 still remaining in the first quarter, and the Cobras needed every bit of it in holding off the Nor'easter for the 29-21 win.

"I never get sick of winning, never, ever, ever, ever, and I will never get sick of winning," said Garrett Perry, Cobras' team owner, head coach and lineman, after watching his defense turn back the Nor'easter on a last-ditch, fourth-quarter comeback attempt.

The win marked the Cobras' second consecutive NEFL AAA championship in two years with the league and concluded a perfect 12-0 run on the 2008 season. Beyond the NEFL, it's the team's fourth straight championship dating back to their Eastern Football League (EFL) days, and, if we are to be thorough, their fifth in the last six seasons.

Jones was named the game's Most Valuable Player for a non-stop show on defense and specials teams, picking off a pair of passes and consistently gobbling up big yards on one kickoff or punt return after another.

"What I told the league officials, and I was proud to tell them, is going 12-0 in the New England Football League in the season that we just had — we came from behind four times, we won one in overtime, we just won the championship by one score — was a dogfight. This was an unbelievably difficult season. The competition we're playing against now is the best in the northeast."

Though the Cobras led throughout the night, the Nor'easter saw that the hosts, and their faithful fans packing the Battis bleachers and lining the home sideline, never got comfortable.

Lowell cracked the scoreboard late in the first quarter, when quarterback John Speidel connected with Chris Degree on a 29-yard touchdown strike, capping a 72-yard drive with just 13 seconds to go before switching ends. A Cobra fumble on the ensuing possession gave the Nor'easter a chance to nullify completely the early lead, but the Cobra defense held.

The teams then swapped punts, James Braga's first boot of the night pinning the Nor'easter back at their own six. Lowell coughed the ball up on second down, though, giving the ball right back to the Cobra offense. But first and goal quickly became fourth and goal, and Braga came back on to kick a 21-yard field goal for a 17-7 lead.

Lowell mounted a drive just before the half and looked sure to score with a first and goal at the Cobra six, but the defense put an eight-yard gash in those plans with a big third-down stop by Dave Emmons and Eric Boatwright. The ensuing 25-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Brandon Soule.

Middleboro's 17-7 advantage shriveled in the early moments of the second half, as Speidel and company got the ball moving down field via the forward pass and cut the lead to 17-14 with a short touchdown run.

And just when things looked to be going Lowell's way, Jones returned the kickoff out past midfield, and a pair of first downs later, Beebe busted loose for a 22-yard touchdown run to restore some breathing room, 23-14.

More punts followed the score before Jones' second pick of the night gave the Cobras a chance to open things up. And on fourth and eight at the Lowell 33, Bond found Beebe on an innocent-enough-looking screen pass, which went 33 yards for the score and gave the Cobras a 29-14 lead with 12:10 to play.

But Lowell did not go quietly.

With 4:12 to play, Speidel struck for his second touchdown pass of the night, this time from five yards out, and despite another long kickoff return, Middleboro was forced to punt with 1:50 remaining on the clock.

Lowell took over at its own 16 but got the chains moving in a hurry, Speidel hitting Degree over the middle for a quick 27-yard gain. The Cobras gave up 15 more on a questionable pass interference call, and with two more pass plays, Lowell advanced the ball to the Cobra 25.

But that's as far as the Nor'easter would get, as three straight incomplete passes set up a do-or-die fourth and ten, the fourth straight incomplete falling to the grass with just 40 seconds showing on the clock.

"Lowell is a fun team to play; they're just loaded with talent," Perry said. "And to beat a team three times in one season is unbelievably hard. If I go back through the last few times we've played them — tonight we won by eight, the last game we played them we won in overtime, we won by five on opening day — we've never beat them by more than one score. Lowell is as good a team as we've played in the last 20 years.

"The key to the game, as usual, was special teams and defense. On offense, we had some nice ball-control drives and we made some plays that we had to make. But we just had some tremendous plays on special teams, and when you score on defense, you're probably gonna win. And that's pretty much what happened. We won by eight points, and we scored seven of those on defense."

In recounting the road to the championship, Perry looked back on a number of come-from-behind wins and an overtime win over Lowell in Week 9, and said the 2008 season was one of the toughest seasons in his 20-plus years of semi-pro football with the Cobras. He credited his players and the coaching staff for overcoming a number of challenges, including, but not limited to, injury, balancing work, family and football, and an ever-increasing level of competition in the NEFL.

"Our guys showed a lot of character this season, because the starting line-up does not even remotely resemble what we started the season with. We had several season-ending injuries, a lot of guys banged up. And it's a tribute to the coaching staff mixing guys around and trying new things, because this is a tough league to play in and all the teams are getting better every season." Perry said.

"The guys played and did everything they were asked to do. A lot of guys were playing in tonight's championship game in positions they were not playing in training camp. And we want guys with that kind of character."